Considering the future: Community leaders talk growth challenges at Utah Valley Chamber summit
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- Charles Marohn speaks at the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce Growth and Prosperity Summit Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Orem.
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- Charles Marohn speaks at the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce Growth and Prosperity Summit Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Orem.
Backed by a young, growing population, the Ken C. Gardner Policy Institute projects Utah County will experience the state’s fastest job growth over the next 40 years.
The addition of 101,257 residents to the county since 2020 and the commercial and residential development that comes with it can lead to challenges related to transportation, housing, energy and water.
Business and government leaders gathered Thursday to address these issues at the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce Growth and Prosperity Summit.
The summit featured presentations from 43 experts in their respective fields, offering their theories on how county leadership can best foster community prosperity.
“I just am grateful that the community showed up to not only listen to what is the latest and greatest about what’s happening in our community, but also to leave with some action items that they can take away and implement in their businesses, in their homes and in their communities,” UV Chamber President Curtis Blair said.
Conversations involved how the county can best preserve its water reserves, welcome innovative energy solutions and manage infrastructure, according to Blair.
The concluding keynote speaker was Charles Marohn, an urban planner and civil engineer who founded Strong Towns and has authored multiple books on community planning.
His theory is that the post the-World War II era of outward city expansion has led to infrastructure costs that a city’s tax base cannot support, causing cities across the country, including in Utah, to spiral deeper into debt.
“Pretty much every city in North America has grown themselves into insolvency,” Marohn said.
He proposed that Utah County city leaders identify ways to make better use of what the community has instead of building further out.
He also suggested lowering “the bar of entry” to allow more people to participate in the community, such as building more starter homes, offering affordable business opportunities and removing red tape in the development process.
“One of the things that you have to grapple with when you recognize that we built more stuff than our tax base can maintain is that there’s only one way to deal with that math problem, and that is to make better use of the stuff we’ve already built,” Marohn said. “Building more just creates more problems.”
Blair said not all of Marohn’s proposals will apply to Utah Valley, but that many can be considered to maintain and preserve quality of life. He pointed to farmers markets that have opened throughout the county, giving small businesses opportunities.
